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Change oil cold or warm- which is better?

ConradH said:
I've always done it warm. You don't ever want to have a plug wire pulled when you start a newer car. It can damage very expensive coil systems. The thinner oils you should be using will circulate so quickly any sort of pumping shouldn't be necessary. In the past I've used a power drill down the distributor hole to drive the oil pump, but that only works on some engines. Mobil One may be King, but Royal Purple is said to be Queen Bitch of the Universe.

Good oil site- https://bobistheoilguy.com/
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Back in my more (believe it or not, LOL) anal days I used to pull the ECM fuses on one of my cars and crank the engine until I saw oil pressure start to rise. Then I'd reinstall the fuses and fire it up.
 
'05 530i, about 65k miles. Mostly M1 changed once a year but used Castrol synthetic a couple of times. Always changed oil when warm/hot, that's why it's so clean. :)

Seriously, I doubt that it makes any difference, hot or cold, as long as it's warm enough to freely flow out.

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The WOT thing on Ford EEC-IV was a flooded start mode. The downside, if your TPS fails in such a way that the ECM thinks you have the pedal down it won't light off either.

I've always been afraid to take the car to a quickie place. It has two drain plugs, and I've heard enough stories of people ending up with it massively over-full after only one plug was removed. The oil pans are also a massive PITA to replace without pulling the motor, so the idea of someone zipping that plug in and stripping it scares me.
 
If your car has a canister-style oil filter that mounts vertically,you can pre-fill the filter with oil before installing it. I have always done this,and get virtually instant oil pressure at start up after an oil change. And it is truly surprising just how much oil the filter holds! Just be careful installing it; one jiggle or oopsie and you're the one getting lubed:rant:

For my ancient flat tappet engines I only use Brad Penn ZDDP oil,and in my modern roller-everything engine I use Amsoil.

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Both Lincolns are close to horizontal. Can't put much in there. I can fill the Chevy one though.

I'm an "on sale synthetic" user. Last time was Pennzoil I think, next time is Valvoline. I'm not real picky about filters either as long as its something decent. The Valvoline sale came with a Purolator One. It gets changed every 3K miles anyway, which is basically annually.
 
arts said:
If your car has a canister-style oil filter that mounts vertically,you can pre-fill the filter with oil before installing it. I have always done this,and get virtually instant oil pressure
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Even though most of my vehicles have been horizontal, I always do that--fill them up and let them sit a few minutes--dump out the excess and then mount them--at least all the filter material is totally soaked before installation--pretty much instant pressure.
 
Some really great hints guys, thanks, particularly the filling of the filter prior- I will do that, although mine is horizontal (I'll put the oil pan under while I screw it on).

It seems warm is the general consensus. I had been debating the pros and cons of cold vs warm in my head for too long- time to change the oil now. :)
 
Todd Dodds said:
As for your taxi mechanic's method, that sounds like it would work pretty well so long as you had a 60 year old car with an oil canister located topside that could be easily opened, remove the filter, drop in a new one and screw the cap down. But I can't see how the heck you'd do it on most modern cars?
I'm know Amsol sells an entire kit that essentially adds a 2nd filter canister that gives the ability to change a filter cartridge.
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It's really not that big of a deal--no pulling the drain plug and waiting, and a hell of a lot lighter on the wallet (synthetic oil ain't cheap)--so a couple bucks for a new filter and less than a quart of fresh oil and good to go for another 3K--otherwise, I'd be under there anyways every 3K for the whole change.
 
Todd Dodds said:
It's always warm/hot oil when I pull into the Quick Lube joint. For the money, I think the fast oil change places are a bargain. I can't get all the stuff together to do a driveway oil change for less time/money than they charge.

Oh...and full synthetic is the only oil for a civilized human being. You can argue all you want about tubes vs. solid state, but in oil world, Mobil One is King.
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You meant Amsoil right? I just did a Mobil, one used to have the gold cap high temp version. Finally decided on a Bosch filter that Walmart always used to have but they've disappeared.
 
I just did a change in my Crown Vic. If the day is cold, I will change after a drive. I wait a little to cool the engine down and to let the oil drain to the pan. I pour some oil into the filter before install. Still get some racket at first start because the hydraulic adjusters have gone dry. Disconnecting the PCM in the CV will stop ignition but allows the starter motor to turn. Next time...

Just to add to the oil debate, I use Mobil One Extended Service and Motorcraft FL820S which has a one way valve to prevent reverse flow. A friend who is fanatical researched BTOG website and says they have tested oils and found only two to be fully synthetic, M1 E.S. and Royal Purple. IME, there is not much difference in performance just after the change. It is at the end of the service interval that M1 E.S. makes a difference.
 
MaxxVolume said:
I do mine warm. For around the last 10 years, I`ve been using a Mityvac fluid extractor/pump. Simplifies things greatly....don`t have to remove the protective cladding from the bottom of the car, get hot oil up your sleeve, etc. It was a good investment.
https://www.amazon.com/Mityvac-7201...-2&keywords=mityvac+7201+fluid+evacuator+plus
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i still have to try a 12v pump i have when i remember where i put it . not sure if it will do it as the manual vacuum pump i have used in the past seems to take ages to suck up 5 litres of hot oil
 
While i don't dispute that the synthetics are the best, I tend to doubt for the everyday driver you get anything. If you change your oil every 3-5k with a decent filter, you're not really getting any benefit from the syn. I'll qualify this in that if you do heavy towing, frequent stops and starts, drive in traffic, super cold, super hot, drive like indy..... You might in fact benefit. I ran full synthetic in several cars without issue. Last few to save a few bucks just good oil on a good schedule. My toyota ran fine at 270k until my son rear ended someone with it. it even drove fine after but wasn't worth doing the body work. Chances are if you do good maintenance, something else in the car will fail before engine oil related wear. IMO
 
I've always done it warm as it's my understanding that running the engine before changing helps get the dirt and such in suspension so it comes out with the old oil.
 
when i do a service its run engine until operating temp. drain oil and whilst draining do the other things like air filter etc . .if it has to be just oil change and filter then its same hot engine but i go off and do something else for at least 20 minutes whilst its draining . go back to see if still dripping or not .if so go and do something else .
 
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